Softball: Ohio Northern (17-3 Overall, 3-1 OAC) at Wilmington (7-7 Overall, 0-4 OAC)
Thursday, Apr. 5, 2018 - 3:30 p.m. - WC Softball Complex - Wilmington, Ohio
Preview: Through the midway point of the season, the Ohio Northern softball team is off to a solid 17-3 start ... Northern enters Thursday's double header at Wilmington riding a six game winning streak, including a 9-1, 9-0 sweep of Ohio Athletic Conference-foe Capital on MOnday afternoon ... In those contests, sophomore Gabby Stewart led the way at the plate, churning out five hits, four runs scored and nine RBI in the two contests ... The sophomore had seven RBI, including a 3-run home run in the second contest ... Sophomore Brady Guest was a combined 5-for-6 at the plate, with two runs and three RBI, including a solo home run in the second contest ... Through 20 games this season, senior Jenna Hollar leads the team and ranks second in the OAC with a .543 batting average ... Her 24 stolen base are more than double the next closest competitor in the OAC and her 1.20 stolen bases per contest ranks fifth nationally ... Hollar also leads the OAC with 38 hits this season ... Stewart currently leads the OAC with 27 RBI ... In the pitchers circle, the 1-2 punch of senior Kirsten Lightel and junior Kailtin Surdej has proven to be a difference maker for the Polar Bears as Lightel leads the OAC with nine victories and Surdej is second in the OAC with eight victories ... Lightel's 1.41 ERA leads the team and ranks second in the OAC, while Surdej's 2.53 ERA is second on the team and fourth in the OAC ... Lightel also leads the OAC with 72 K's this season ... Wilmington enters the contest after dropping a pair of contests at John Carroll ... The Quakers are led offensively this season by junior Allison Pierce's 16 hits, while senior Savannah Hooper is second on the team with 15 hits ... Pierce also leads the Quakers with seven RBI this season and a .410 batting average ... Hooper's seven stolen bases leads the team and ranks fifth in the OAC ... In the pitchers circle, senior Beth Persicano has a team-best four victories on the mound and leads the team with a 3.38 ERA and 47.2 innings pitched ... Freshman Grace Shell currently leads the pitching staff with 37 strikeouts this season.
Batting Leaders
| Batting Ave. | Hits | Runs | RBI | |||||||||||
| 1. | Hollar | .543 | 1. | Hollar | 38 | 1. | Hollar | 29 | 1. | Stewart | 27 | |||
| 2. | Guest | .432 | 2. | Stewart | 24 | 2. | Swierz | 12 | 2. | Guest | 12 | |||
| 3. | Stewart | .407 | 3. | Swierz | 16 | 3. | Huddle | 11 | 3. | Huddle | 8 | |||
| Guest | 16 |
Pitching Leaders
| Wins | ERA | Strikeouts | ||||||||
| 1. | Lightel | 9 | 1. | Lightel | 1.41 | 1. | Lightel | 72 | ||
| 2. | Surdej | 8 | 2. | Surdej | 2.53 | 2. | Surdej | 43 |
Series Notes: The Polar Bears lead the all-time series by a 30-2 margin ... Northern has won nine straight in the series, including a 10-5, 7-3 sweep in 2017.
ONU head coach Jackie Price: Price is in her second season as head coach of the Polar Bears and owns an 42-16 record, a winning percentage of .724.